Grandioso Sweeps the Grand Prix at Sunshine Tour CDI, Week 1--Vaquero wins the Copa ANCCE

Grandioso returned to the[nbsp]show ring for the first time since the Olympic Games to top a field of 16 in the first Grand Prix at Sunshine Tour in Vejer, Spain. The class held strong representation from Spain and Portugal, featuring many seasoned horses along with a good number of young combinations showing promise for the future. Daniel Martin Dockx's ride on Friday evening was conservative and cautious as Grandioso came into the ring rather strong and impatient. They were awarded 69.6 from the ground jury, which consisted of mostly French and Latin American judges. On Saturday, they performed a relaxed and confident Kur together and this was not lost on the judges, who gave Daniel and Grandioso their highest marks to date--74.825 with technical scores ranging from 71 to 74.7%.[nbsp]

The pair's new Kur was designed late last year by Marlene Whitaker, an American freestyle designer whose work[nbsp]has been represented at the Olympics, Para Olympics, World Cup, Young Rider World Cup, Pan Am Games, World Equestrian Games, North American Young Rider Championships, European Young Rider Championships,[nbsp]and many national championships. In 2009, Marlene designed[nbsp]Grandioso's Intermediate I freestyle for Courtney King-Dye for which they received scores in a similar range. Marlene's selections for the new arrangement derive from themes from the score of the 2012 film Hemingway and Gellhorn, interspersed with portions of modern Flamenco "fusion", creating an [nbsp]impression of grandeur and rhythm in the Spanish tradition.

Vaquero HGF (Cuatrero x Idilio) continues to lead the competition in the Young Horse classes. For the second year in a row, Michigan-born Vaquero has won the Copa ANCCE at Sunshine Tour. This award, sponsored by the national breeders association in Spain, is given to the PRE Horse that has the highest composite marks for the week, all levels considered together. This past week, Vaquero finished 2nd place overall in both the Preliminary and Finals of the FEI 6 Year Old classes, both days placing behind a warmblood horse. In 2012, at the National Young Horse Championships in Zaragoza, Vaquero ranked first of all 5 year old PRE bred horses in the competition, and our hopes are to continue to hold this place in 2013. This was his first time doing the more complicated 6 year old test, and their combined scores topped all the other young horse PRE competitors in all age categories. They will show again in week 2.

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We will update next week on Encanto and the rest of Sunshine Tour. [nbsp]